In the end, we decided not to continue using Proto.io and instead use tools we were already using.
For just presenting workflows to stakeholders, InVision worked almost as well (not as robust in interactions, but when you want to focus on the steps, that's better anyway).
Proto.io can be more complicated than some of those tools because it gives us a lot of features in the same product. Some of those tools are better for wireframing. Still, for prototyping, my choice is Proto.io because its prototyping workflow, even if it can be a little …
Figma is well suited for UX Design- I personally think it is the best tool out there. Our team started with Sketch, but ultimately switched over when it became clear that it was the superior tool. It's pretty good for handing off designs to developers, although other tools claim to be able to take design to code more easily. It's not the most powerful tool for graphic design, though I still use it for simple things (e.g. icon creation) because I am not well versed in Illustrator and the learning curve for Adobe platforms seems rather steep.
Proto.io is the perfect solution for UX/UI designers that need to create and share interactive prototypes. Proto excels at the interactive part. There are so many different ways to make elements change or interact, whether you're viewing the prototype on a computer (mouse clicks) or on a phone (screen touches). We could build and prototype our entire mobile app on here if we wanted to because Proto.io has the customization that we need to make the app look and feel like ours. If you're looking for a software to create wireframes and static mockups, Proto.io is probably overkill for you.
Tappable overlaid layers - bugs on fixed components, such as an app navigation footer in a prototype
Swapping a component but retaining inputted copy or imagery.
Performance on prototypes to work better in UserZoom - having to delete hidden layers manually, optimize images, and streamline the file, in general, is time-consuming
Folder structures - larger teams need multiple layers of folder structure to help find things.
Branch performance - we need better, more user-friendly solutions to get designs to merge better.
Branch performance - branching with the option to choose which pages you want in the branch without deleting each page you don't need.
Default sharing options need improvement.
Responsive ratios' in prototyping without having to recreate pages.
Better collaboration with Jira to bring in links in the design mode not just dev mode.
Figma is a pretty cool tool in many areas. My team almost uses it on daily basis, such as, brainstorming on product/design topics, discussing prototypes created by designers. We even use it for retrospectives, which is super convenient and naturally keeps records of what the team discusses every month. Furthermore, I do see the potential of the product - currently we mainly use it for design topics, but it seems it is also a good fit for tech diagrams, which we probably will explore further in the future.
It's easy to use for designers who are familiar with design terms and functions from Photoshop and Illustrator. However, non-tech and non-designer collaborators have a hard time figuring out how to leave comments and apply changes, compared to other online design tools like Canva and Squarespace. Even simple drag-and-drops and rearrangement of certain blocks become too complicated due to uncommon functions like Hug and Lock.
I haven't used their support lately but in the past, they had a chat that I used often. They often responded in a few hours and were able to give a satisfactory solution. I would imagine it's less personal now but the community has expanded drastically so there are more resources out there to self serve with a bit of Google magic.
In-person training has its own benefits - 1. It helps in resolving queries then and there during the training. 2. I find classroom or in-person training more interactive. 3. Classroom or in-person training could be more practical in nature where participants can have an hands on experience with tools and clarify their doubts with the trainer.
Online training has its own merits and demerits - 1. Sometimes we may face issues with connectivity or the training content 2. The way training is being delivered becomes very important because not everyone is comfortable taking online training and learning by themselves. 3. With the advancement of technology online training has become popular but there is a segment of people who still prefer class-room training over online one.
Figma compared to other tools has user friendly UI which is very easy for all levels of designers. Compared to Adobe XD and Sketch Figma is stable, while in other tools I have faced software crashing in the middle of the work which resulted in loss of data/design. Compared to other tools it's fast and shows less lag. Collaboration in Figma is very easy as it is cloud based but in XD it's not that smooth working with other designers.
Proto.io is definitely the premier mockup and wireframe application. Lucidchart shares some of the capability but can be a bit clunky. Proto.io is interactive and smooth and helps you to see exactly how your UI will look and behave before the development stage. Additionally, it's library of native components is robust.
